Can someone give me the number to call to report boundary fraud?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hard to say. when a school stops working mid-year, thats always a real predicament. she could have tried the in-bound for the duration of the school year. but you are getting into why the city does not really enforce this stuff.

Right, Eastern for the duration of the school year, a school that doesn't offer most of the subjects the girl would've been taking at BASIS and wouldn't offer any of them at an appropriate level. Then what, move the whole family to MD or VA over the summer because no viable option had magically materialized for her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So wait, my taxes are ok to support a non existing police force that lets shop lifters and violent criminals off the hook but I can’t rent a second home to have my kid go to a school that’s better than the one where math proficiency is 37%??

If the system was functional, I would GLADLY use it. But it’s not.

Are you actually suggesting that you should be allowed to cheat and break the rules so long as someone, somewhere, at some point, broke a different rule? I would hope that your child would know better, even if you don't.

I’m paying into a system that isn’t providing the most basic social contract function, physical safety. It’s not someone, somewhere, it’s right on my street and on your street—it’s systemic! I witnessed a robbery in broad daylight, reported to the police, identified the perpetrator (who was later just sitting in the park with a pile of things he stole and I pointed him out to the officer) and the police literally did nothing. My kid was also witness to the track meet shooting at the end of last school year; the track meet was literally next to the most dangerous intersection in the city. Why? Because we are cosplaying equity. Meanwhile we feed the poorest of our kids (those who really need quality breakfast) sugary crap for breakfast in DCPS. I do support our local ANC commissioner who is one of the rare sane ones.

But, no, if the system is rotten, I don’t feel an ounce of moral obligation to follow its rules. Watch The Wire. That’s basically where we are with DC governance. I hate Trump more than any person in recent history but he has a point about DC. :/

Ask yourself why everyone here in the exact same position as you still thinks you are a cheater. If DC is so awful just move.

This. If you think DCPS is garbage and that the city could be doing way more to create better schools all over the city, then the answer is that you need to leave DCPS. Go private, go to a charter, or move out of the city.

I have a million problems with DCPS and I don't know that we are going to make it through MS and HS in the city, but I accept that it is what it is and if I choose to use the public school system, I have to comply with the policies of the public school system. Especially given that multiple alternatives are available to me.

Imagine if everyone in the district just lied about their residence to go to the school of their choosing.

This kind of thinking is why when people at the Central office are laid off or there are other threats to DCPS, no one cares.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/195/1284724.page

You think people who care about good schools should go private, charter or leave the city? They are doing all of the above.

Make city schools good schools.

I think PP is saying that no, that you “care about good schools” does not justify you cheating. Is that truly confusing to you?

The rules don’t prevent me from actually having two places of residence.

There’s no legal regime that lets you have two equal places of residence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hard to say. when a school stops working mid-year, thats always a real predicament. she could have tried the in-bound for the duration of the school year. but you are getting into why the city does not really enforce this stuff.

Right, Eastern for the duration of the school year, a school that doesn't offer most of the subjects the girl would've been taking at BASIS and wouldn't offer any of them at an appropriate level. Then what, move the whole family to MD or VA over the summer because no viable option had magically materialized for her?

You say this as if these kinds of issues are not something that many Hill families face regularly. Yes, you find a solution that does not involve lying/cheating.

[Anonymous]

None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It not cheating, it’s taking matters into my own hands when the people I literally elect and pay to do their jobs simply—don’t.

This. I'm not a boundary cheat and don't endorse cheating, but I'm not going to judge fellow DC parents in tough circumstances related to access to acceptable schools, not when we have a mayor and city council member who don't care if we have acceptable neighborhood schools here EotP. Fenty and Rhee cared, Gray cared, Bowser and Allen clearly don't. It's much too easy to point the finger at individual families whose public school choices have fallen apart on the turn of a dime.

I mention the situation of neighbors and friends of ours of 20 years, Federal workers with several kids who went to a DCPS ES, then to BASIS. Two of the kids could tolerate BASIS but one was miserable, although her grades were good. But she didn't get into Walls, Banneker, Latin or Duke Ellington and they didn't get enough fi aid to make a private HS work. The girl developed such serious mental health problems in the BASIS HS that her grades plummeted and she began skipping school. They couldn't get her into MacArthur in the middle of a school year and couldn't swing homeschooling. Desperate, they rented a small apt in Upper NW so the girl could switch to J-R. They had a relative live there to pay the rent, with the girl staying some weeknights. Her situation quickly stabilized and she's going great.

You guys are saying that the whole family should have uprooted in this situation. I'm saying that these parents, having done their level best to follow the rules for many years, deserved a viable public high school for all of their children, vs. failing Eastern, their best option after BASIS didn't work for one child.

yes, they should have done what the rest of us on the Hill do, even with kids facing serious issues: follow the rules. I have literally zero empathy for this family (whose personal information you are so kindly blasting here). If they want to play by the rules they can actually establish their daughter’s new residence with her family member in NW by giving that relative custody (formally or otherwise) and having the daughter live there at least half time.

If they were actually having their daughter live there roughly half the time, they were likely close to following the actual rules, though there may hae been additional paperwork involved to appoint the residing friend as a guardian. I actually think the fact they went to so much trouble suggests that they knew they were bending the rules and did care... Although if the other two kids were done with BASIS at that point, yes, I'd uproot the whole family (for numerous reasons). However, if the other two kids were still at BASIS (and therefore living at home), then I agree that this solution might be the best combo of almost legal and best for their family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It not cheating, it’s taking matters into my own hands when the people I literally elect and pay to do their jobs simply—don’t.

This. I'm not a boundary cheat and don't endorse cheating, but I'm not going to judge fellow DC parents in tough circumstances related to access to acceptable schools, not when we have a mayor and city council member who don't care if we have acceptable neighborhood schools here EotP. Fenty and Rhee cared, Gray cared, Bowser and Allen clearly don't. It's much too easy to point the finger at individual families whose public school choices have fallen apart on the turn of a dime.

I mention the situation of neighbors and friends of ours of 20 years, Federal workers with several kids who went to a DCPS ES, then to BASIS. Two of the kids could tolerate BASIS but one was miserable, although her grades were good. But she didn't get into Walls, Banneker, Latin or Duke Ellington and they didn't get enough fi aid to make a private HS work. The girl developed such serious mental health problems in the BASIS HS that her grades plummeted and she began skipping school. They couldn't get her into MacArthur in the middle of a school year and couldn't swing homeschooling. Desperate, they rented a small apt in Upper NW so the girl could switch to J-R. They had a relative live there to pay the rent, with the girl staying some weeknights. Her situation quickly stabilized and she's going great.

You guys are saying that the whole family should have uprooted in this situation. I'm saying that these parents, having done their level best to follow the rules for many years, deserved a viable public high school for all of their children, vs. failing Eastern, their best option after BASIS didn't work for one child.

yes, they should have done what the rest of us on the Hill do, even with kids facing serious issues: follow the rules. I have literally zero empathy for this family (whose personal information you are so kindly blasting here). If they want to play by the rules they can actually establish their daughter’s new residence with her family member in NW by giving that relative custody (formally or otherwise) and having the daughter live there at least half time.

If they were actually having their daughter live there roughly half the time, they were likely close to following the actual rules, though there may hae been additional paperwork involved to appoint the residing friend as a guardian. I actually think the fact they went to so much trouble suggests that they knew they were bending the rules and did care... Although if the other two kids were done with BASIS at that point, yes, I'd uproot the whole family (for numerous reasons). However, if the other two kids were still at BASIS (and therefore living at home), then I agree that this solution might be the best combo of almost legal and best for their family.

Sure, if they made their relative the guardian and had her live in the rental more than 50% of the time for the rest of HS, and completed the paperwork accurately with the relative as the guardian - then that could be a legal solution. But I doubt that’s what they actually are doing. What it actually sounds like is that Aunt Larla lives in a studio in NW and they are just using her address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

If you're more upset about people cheating than about DCPS's lack of interest in providing an appropriate education for EOTP kids who are at or above grade level, I judge you. And if you want to spend your time reporting them, you can, but DCPS does not care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

If you're more upset about people cheating than about DCPS's lack of interest in providing an appropriate education for EOTP kids who are at or above grade level, I judge you. And if you want to spend your time reporting them, you can, but DCPS does not care.

I can be upset about multiple things. And in fact this things are connected. A culture of lawlessness doesn’t do anything for DCPS. Tightening up the rules on the lottery via MySchool and auditing enrollment paperwork in fact led to greater investment in IB schools IMO leading to the improvement of schools like Payne, Chisholm, Maury; and the trickle up investment into EH. You act like there are not HUNDREDS of families on the Hill with “above grade level kids” who follow the freakin’ rules. Again you can be a narcissistic cheater, but you cannot be also seen as a fair and good person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

If you're more upset about people cheating than about DCPS's lack of interest in providing an appropriate education for EOTP kids who are at or above grade level, I judge you. And if you want to spend your time reporting them, you can, but DCPS does not care.

I can be upset about multiple things. And in fact this things are connected. A culture of lawlessness doesn’t do anything for DCPS. Tightening up the rules on the lottery via MySchool and auditing enrollment paperwork in fact led to greater investment in IB schools IMO leading to the improvement of schools like Payne, Chisholm, Maury; and the trickle up investment into EH. You act like there are not HUNDREDS of families on the Hill with “above grade level kids” who follow the freakin’ rules. Again you can be a narcissistic cheater, but you cannot be also seen as a fair and good person.

If DCPS wanted to enforce this, I think that would be fine. But it's not going to get you what you want for exactly the reason you said, which is that most parents aren't doing this. The numbers are very small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

If you're more upset about people cheating than about DCPS's lack of interest in providing an appropriate education for EOTP kids who are at or above grade level, I judge you. And if you want to spend your time reporting them, you can, but DCPS does not care.

I can be upset about multiple things. And in fact this things are connected. A culture of lawlessness doesn’t do anything for DCPS. Tightening up the rules on the lottery via MySchool and auditing enrollment paperwork in fact led to greater investment in IB schools IMO leading to the improvement of schools like Payne, Chisholm, Maury; and the trickle up investment into EH. You act like there are not HUNDREDS of families on the Hill with “above grade level kids” who follow the freakin’ rules. Again you can be a narcissistic cheater, but you cannot be also seen as a fair and good person.

If DCPS wanted to enforce this, I think that would be fine. But it's not going to get you what you want for exactly the reason you said, which is that most parents aren't doing this. The numbers are very small.

Sure. The point is that nobody feels sorry for these “struggling families” that have no option but to cheat.

As far as DCPS goes - they in fact did greatly tighten up their procedures by using the MySchool lottery system which makes it much harder to just slip under the radar; as well as being stricter about enrollment paperwork and address verification. No they are not going to catch everyone but they do care about maintaining a geographical enrollment system with integrity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

Come on. No parent is in court swearing to tell the whole truth when they run to J-R in desperation, renting a place in-boundary. They can keep quiet, believing that their choice is best for their family in a city with just one UMC friendly neighborhood HS. They don't need to care if people like you disagree, if they're reported, DCPS may elect to verify their paperwork, but our public school system is hardly the FBI, stalking families, counting the nights they sleep in a place where they receive some mail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

Come on. No parent is in court swearing to tell the whole truth when they run to J-R in desperation, renting a place in-boundary. They can keep quiet, believing that their choice is best for their family in a city with just one UMC friendly neighborhood HS. They don't need to care if people like you disagree, if they're reported, DCPS may elect to verify their paperwork, but our public school system is hardly the FBI, stalking families, counting the nights they sleep in a place where they receive some mail.

Did the PP mention law enforcement? She was talking about moral judgment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of us should judge struggling families forced to make tough decisions about DC public school attendance.

Cheaper Catholic option? The odds of admission to a Catholic HS in the DMV, if you can afford the 30K+ tuition, are terrible unless you're applying for a 9th grade spot. The admissions process is complex and takes months to complete. You can't just head to one at any time.

Of course I judge them. This is exactly the kind of situation where people can and should be judged. Because those of us who play by the rules (in the same exact system with the same exact problems) handle it without cheating.

You can cheat and likely not get caught, but you cannot force people not to judge you. Or report you for that matter.

If you're more upset about people cheating than about DCPS's lack of interest in providing an appropriate education for EOTP kids who are at or above grade level, I judge you. And if you want to spend your time reporting them, you can, but DCPS does not care.

I can be upset about multiple things. And in fact this things are connected. A culture of lawlessness doesn’t do anything for DCPS. Tightening up the rules on the lottery via MySchool and auditing enrollment paperwork in fact led to greater investment in IB schools IMO leading to the improvement of schools like Payne, Chisholm, Maury; and the trickle up investment into EH. You act like there are not HUNDREDS of families on the Hill with “above grade level kids” who follow the freakin’ rules. Again you can be a narcissistic cheater, but you cannot be also seen as a fair and good person.

If DCPS wanted to enforce this, I think that would be fine. But it's not going to get you what you want for exactly the reason you said, which is that most parents aren't doing this. The numbers are very small.

Sure. The point is that nobody feels sorry for these “struggling families” that have no option but to cheat.

As far as DCPS goes - they in fact did greatly tighten up their procedures by using the MySchool lottery system which makes it much harder to just slip under the radar; as well as being stricter about enrollment paperwork and address verification. No they are not going to catch everyone but they do care about maintaining a geographical enrollment system with integrity.

I neither judge them nor feel sorry for them. And I'll believe DCPS cares about this when they expand their reporting hotline to include boundary issues and stop saying that graduating from a JR feeder gets you access to JR.

[Anonymous]

My guess will that the DCPS fraud reporting hotline won't follow-up on boundary cheating complaints as long as some of the poor minority kids living in the District bounce between relatives' places.

In the meantime, moral judgements on the matter will remain sanctimonious claptrap, nothing more.